balls of steel

Man grows marijuana on farm land he rents from government

NAGANO -- An unemployed man who grew marijuana on farm land he rents from the municipal government has been arrested, law enforcers said.

The prefectural government and Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry narcotic control officers arrested Hideki Kasuga, 34, for violating the Cannabis Control Law.

In the specific case for which he was arrested, Kasuga grew marijuana at his home in Nagano.

Kasuga also rented farm land from the municipal government and grew 80 marijuana plants this year, according to law enforcers.

He planted numerous sunflowers on the farm to conceal the illegal plants. However, the marijuana plants grew higher than the sunflowers, and a local resident who noticed the plants alerted law enforcement authorities.

The farm land is part of an area that the municipal government rents out to local residents for growing vegetables. (Mainichi)